Half marathon!

So about 3 weeks ago, Miss Juliet invited mama along on a long run as part of her 10k training program. They ran for about 60 minutes and had a really good time.

So mama got it in her head that maybe she could be a runner. And if running for an hour was easy, maybe she could go longer. So she signed up for the Easter Bunny half marathon in Clemson for two reasons:

1. After Boot Camp, mama may never be in better shape, so she better do it soon.

2. Mama likes to run- in the spring. Come May, it's going to be WAY too hot, but spring in the south is beautiful and it helps to see everything blooming outside. Also, mama didn't want to spend weeks and weeks training. So get it done soon.

Here's the big finisher! She finished the race in 2 hours and 6 minutes, which is just around a 9:40 pace. (Though there was some debate about whether the race course was a full 13.1 miles. All of our runner friends have these cool GPS watches and many of them thought it was only a 12.9 mile course.) Mama said the worse part was when she had to run a slight uphill on a boring road for a mile and a half at mile 11. Luckily, the last mile was downhill to the finish line.

So now mama's debating about her future as a runner. The hot summer weather may dissuade her from any outdoor running this summer. She knows she's not going train for anything longer. Long distance running takes a lot out of you! First, training takes a huge amount of time away from us. (Big thanks to papa for letting mama pretty much check out every for training runs and naps!) Next, mama's not sure if it's worth feeling crummy after every run- sore legs, upset stomach, extreme fatigue.

Then again, running burns a tremendous amount of calories and after mama's 4 hour nap, papa treated her to the best indulgence they could think of- Long John Silvers. Say what you will, but mama maintains she works out so when she goes out to eat, it can be awesomely delicious. You've outdone yourself, John.

A big congratulations to Miss Juliet, who won 2nd place in her age group for the 5k! And congratulations to Miss Kerri and Miss Jenny for running half and thanks for running the first 6 miles with mama.